Job revival: shake it up. Contributor David Brown advises, “If you’ve been doing things the same way for years because when you first came into the job it was the way they were always done, it’s time to rethink everything. Approach the problem mindfully and with a pioneer’s spirit reinvent your job. . . . Regardless of what your job is, it is almost inconceivable that technological advances in the last five years haven’t somehow transformed the way things could be done.”
Supercharge Veteran hiring. Editor Lindy Kyzer writes, “It’s clear – recruiters love hiring veterans. For defense industry and government contractors, the benefits are tangible – veterans know the customer and there are tax savings for vets hired. If you’re a large company, you likely have a robust military outreach and hiring program. But if you’re a smaller employer or you’re an individual recruiter sourcing for a specific position, it can be more difficult to identify what strategies will work best. . . . Here are a few concepts to consider as you look to fill your talent pipeline with more military talent.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
Reuters’ Emmanuel Jarry and Robert-Jan Bartunek report, “French warplanes pounded Islamic State positions in Syria on Sunday as police in Europe widened their investigations into coordinated attacks in Paris that killed more than 130 people. . . . French police have launched an international hunt for a Belgian-born man they believe helped organize the assaults with two of his brothers. One of the brothers died in the attacks, while the second is under arrest in Belgium . . . .”
The Long War Journal’s Thomas Joscelyn reports, “The Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) announced [Thursday] that its fighters have pushed their way into Sinjar, which the Islamic State overran in August 2014. The so-called ‘caliphate’ has maintained control of the northern Iraqi town in the 16 months since. But a new offensive launched in recent days has loosened the jihadists’ grip.”
The Telegraph’s Gordon Rayner reports, “For more than a year British and US intelligence agencies had been trying to gain live information on the whereabouts of the masked man whose first victim, the American journalist James Foley, was murdered in a video posted on YouTube in August 2014.”
Defense One’s Molly O’Toole reports, “Obama administration officials once again have put an indefinite hold on submitting to Congress their plan to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. . . . After delaying the plan to conduct surveys of potential alternative sites in Colorado, South Carolina and Kansas, officials and lawmakers said it would come this past week. Now, the plan has been held and is not expected until sometime in the next month.”
CONTRACT WATCH
Defence Talk reports, “The United States Army has exercised $65.8 million in contract options for 12 additional UH-72A Lakota helicopters and associated mission equipment packages. The UH-72A is manufactured by Airbus Helicopters Inc. at its final assembly plant in Columbus, Miss., which has already produced and delivered almost 350 Lakotas to date, all on time and on cost.”
Nextgov’s Frank Konkel reports, “GovBizConnect won’t help you find love, but if you’re a government contractor, it might help you find the perfect subcontracting or qualified small business partner to carry out a challenging contract or compete for new business.”
Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “Airborne sonar experts at the Raytheon Co. will provide the U.S. Navy with 22 AN/AQS-22 dipping sonar systems for the MH-60R maritime helicopter under terms of a $65.8 million contract modification. . . . The sonar system enables the MH-60R to detect, track, pinpoint, and classify potentially hostile submarines. It reels the sonar transducer down into the water from the hovering helicopter and can operate the sonar at a wide variety of depths to find submarines hiding under temperature inversions in the water.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
Federal Times’ Aaron Boyd reports, “The Department of Homeland Security has a huge cybersecurity mission, charged with securing the .gov and .mil domains, as well as coordinating the defense of private sector networks. Staffing to meet that mission is of critical importance and the current dearth of in-house expertise and rigors of the federal hiring system are making it that much harder. To help move the process along, the Office of Personnel Management granted DHS authority to hire 1,000 cyber professionals between now and June 30, 2016.”
Homeland Security News Wire reports, “The U.K. government will substantially increase efforts to counter the threat from ISIS. In the five-year defense and security review, to be unveiled next week, the government details plans to increase the staff of MI5, MI6, and GCHQ by 1,900 officers; at least a double the funding for aviation security around the world; and deploy additional aviation security officers to assess security at overseas airports.”
